7 replies to this topic

[Draco_Americanus]

I have been unable to find blackpowder at sporting goods stores in my area. They do sell "smokless alternitives"(I.E Pyrodex or Hogdin, Tripple Seven brand) that do have an FG rating. I don't know the compostion of these powders so I don't trust them for burst but I was wondering if an FG type would work for the lift charge. These powders are typical for use in muzzle loading or in firearms that used blackpowder.
Anyone have any experance with sutch powders?
Thanks
(I am ramping up to make my own BP because of this problem)

[fishy1]

google is your friend.

FG A course grain black powder generally used for cannons.

[LadyKate]

I have been unable to find blackpowder at sporting goods stores in my area. They do sell "smokless alternitives"(I.E Pyrodex or Hogdin, Tripple Seven brand) that do have an FG rating. I don't know the compostion of these powders so I don't trust them for burst but I was wondering if an FG type would work for the lift charge. These powders are typical for use in muzzle loading or in firearms that used blackpowder.
Anyone have any experance with sutch powders?
Thanks
(I am ramping up to make my own BP because of this problem)

The short answer is no. Pyrodex or equivalents do not work well as lift. They are designed to work in tightly confined spaces and they usually just fizzle when used for pyrotechnics. Having said that, someone will want to weigh in with some exception but I think you'll find that most Pyros stay away from Pyrodex or equivalents.

A short story... I decided to use Pyrodex and figure out how to make it work for lift. At 1 ounce, the powder fizzled and pushed the tight fitting shell (1.5"!) out to about 20 feet. Same for 1.5 ounces. At 2 ounces I discovered the critical mass .. it disintegrated the mortar. Since I was testing and was expecting the worse, there was no problem - in fact, it was funny because everyone jumped when it popped and then started nervously giggling - no one expected it to be so loud. The shell is probably still outward bound. The conclusion was that Pyrodex was just terrible for lift powder.

However, I asked this question long ago and I got about the same answer I'm giving you... I just couldn't believe it was that bad - after all, I used it in my black powder rifle all the time. If you decide to prove it to yourself, remember the bland performance on what seems like huge overloads is not indicative of what will happen when it decides that it has enough to go bang all at once.

[The_Djinn]

Quick response to this which is already posted somewhere on the forum..
The U.S. military did some tests with pyrodex vs BP.. result basically is that pyrodex does not produce gasses at the same rate as BP hence not ideal for lift.

[Draco_Americanus]

Thank you guys for the info.

[lord_dranack]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what pyrodex is made from?

[Pretty green flames]

I belive pyrodex is made from Nitrocellulose, Nitroglycerin and camphor

[alany]

Nope, it is similar to benzolift actually.

Check out US patent 4,128,443, the composition listed there is believed to be very similar to Pyrodex as the Assignee is the Pyrodex Corporation:

45 Potassium Nitrate
19 Potassium Perchlorate
11 Sodium Benzoate
6 Dicyanamide
6 Charcoal
6 Sulfur

Edited by alany, 18 September 2005 - 02:26 PM.